You Are Beautiful, I Am A Machine
by themagentaduchess
Summary: The way I imagined things going during the events of Pollo Loco. Max/Ben goodness. Oneshot


**AN: Hello to the readers of my fics. I'm back, this time with a little Max/Ben oneshot set during Pollo Loco in season one. Lemme know what you think.**

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The sun was setting over Seattle and Max was on the hunt. After working out that her "brother" Ben had been hurting innocent people, she needed to find him. The encounter in the church had rocked her to her bones, making her rethink her choice to stay in Seattle. Of course, Logan had disagreed with her going after Ben, but Max knew in her heart that she had to see Ben, had to try to convince him to stop his rampage. Walking through the slums and avoiding the mechanical gaze of the Hoverdrones, she caught sight of the Space Needle. Her memories took her to the roof of Manticore, to rainy nights spent praying to the Blue Lady and the offerings of teeth. She looked skyward and muttered to herself, "The High Place".

Walking with a mission in mind, she managed to avoid the Sector Police and entered the confines of the Space Needle. Climbing up through the inner staircase, following the familiar path that she knew so well, Max was able to slip back into her memories. Thoughts of a time when life seemed so simple; you kill because you are told to, you do not think, you take care of your regiment. Only now, it's fending for yourself in a large strange world, with little connection to anyone or anything. Max reached the top floor of the building, coming onto the derelict viewing platform. Sitting just near the broken out windows, admiring the graffiti, was the same face that had frightened her in the church. The same piercing green eyes that had remained in her mind throughout the years. He turned to her, coming up to his full height and walked a few steps towards her. With the golden-orange light of the sunset blinding her view, she adjusted so that she could see his face and the smirk that graced it. She leaped at him, crashing into the man and pushing him to the ground. Handcuffing him to a heater, she held him pinned against the litter strewn ground.

"The priest, where is he? It's over."

"Is it?" In the moment that Ben said it, he had taken the time to study his "sister's" face. The dark hair and mysterious eyes had stayed as well as the full lips. Clad in comfortable yet practical mission wear, the only thing that had changed was the frown on her face. "What? Are you going to call the police now?" Max's face changed, the frown turning to sadness. "I didn't think so; that would mean exposure for all of us." He smirked, forcing anger to rise up into Max's throat.

"I could turn you over to Lydecker." Max pushed a few strands of free hair from her face, earning a few seconds of struggle from Ben.

"You wouldn't do that, would you? Your own brother?" He pleaded to his sister, almost certain that she would never return him to Manticore.

"Bet he'd love to figure out what the hell went wrong with you." She was becoming frustrated with his quips, preferring to cut him off.

"Nothing went wrong with me! I'm doing what I was made to do, what we were taught to do!"

Without thinking about her words, Max shouted back at him. "Hunt people down to perform amateur dental surgery? I must've missed that class." Secretly, Ben smiled.

"You seem to know quite a lot about what I've been up to." His mind ran through all the people that he had killed, finally settling on the very man he now held captive. Max tried once again to gain information from him.

"Where's Destry?" The kindness in her voice did not throw Ben.

"Not that I mind, you're one of the few people who could possibly understand." He threw a subtle glance in her direction, feeling the tension in the air.

"See, that's where you're wrong. I don't understand." Ben's loud voice drowned out Max's last sentence.

"Come on, Maxie! Don't tell me you've forgotten that day." In the silence that followed, Max could hear the heavy breathing of herself and Ben, both reminiscing about the day with the prisoner.

"Believe me, I've tried." She looked at him pointedly, seeing a change in his face that she didn't really like. His reply was almost as quiet as hers had been.

"But you can't, can you? And you wanna know why?" His pause sent chills down her spine. "Because it was the most exhilarating day of your life. For one brief moment, you were what you were meant to be. A predator." His eyes found hers, watching tears well at the terrifying memories from Max's past. "What's the matter, Maxie? You afraid to remember?" The use of her old nickname brought forward a fresh bubble of pain.

"I don't want to remember." The smirk returned, wider than ever.

"Because it scares you? I think we even scared Lydecker that day." He returned to his monologue, knowing he had caught her attention. "I remember watching him run off into the woods...how long it seemed for Lydecker to count down the seconds. He never had a chance." Ben looked to her face, lost in memories of the kill. With his free hand, he stroked her thigh, an evil smile on his face. "Don't tell me you don't wake up with the sound of your heart pounding in your ears."

Max woke up from her brief reverie to the movement of Ben's hand on her thigh. She heard his line and returned to present day. "Shut up." Ben continued to egg her on.

"Or the taste of blood in your mouth."

"Shut up!"

"You're like a wolf in sheep's clothing, Max! You're hiding your instincts, every minute of every day, so that no one will know what you really are. A soldier...a hunter...a killer." His last comment pushed Max over the edge.

"SHUT UP!" With one quick movement, she punched him in the face. Instantly feeling the repercussions of what she has just done, she recoiled in horror. Ben wiped his mouth with his handcuffed hand, spreading the blood along his fingers.

"See? What'd I tell you?" The scent of the blood was almost too strong for Max, still caught up in the memories of the kill. She moved Ben around, sitting him up, holding the handcuffed hand close to her mouth, licking away the blood. Ben's smile was wide, realising that she had caved to the temptation of his words. Bringing his free hand to her face, he cupped her cheek, drawing Max's attention away from the blood. He leaned in and stole a kiss, the taste of blood still fresh on his lips.

Max didn't protest, the comforting taste of the blood and him making her feel at home. All thoughts of Logan were far away as Ben deepened the kiss. He lead their actions and soon Max found the free hand whipping around her body, memorising every curve. They were like two hungry animals, holding each other tightly and kissing passionately. At last, Max pulled back, still sitting in his lap. He stroked through the wild tangles of her hair and sighed in satisfaction. "You see. You Maxie, are beautiful. You always were and that hasn't changed. I am a machine, born and bred to do what I am doing right now."

"Seducing women, family at that and killing innocent people?"

"I do what I have to do to get by. The seduction is just a game, the killing people, however, is instinctual." He traced a pattern on her leg, much like the way they had communicated back in Manticore. Only this time, it was a message that Max didn't understand.

"But why, Ben? Do you hate yourself so much that you have to keep killing yourself over and over again?" Max tried to keep the conversation on the missing priest and Ben's actions.

"I do it for her."

"The Blue Lady? Come on, Ben. We made her up."

"Don't say that, Max. Don't ever say that. She's real."

"Then why didn't she protect us?" Ben sighed. His battle to keep Max in his arms was slowly being lost as she retracted from his reach to sit on the window sill.

"Come back to me, Max. I'm a good soldier. I try so hard. I have faith in her." The realisation hit Max. She turned back to him.

"Is that why you give her your victims' teeth? To make her heart stronger to fight the Nomlies?"

"Shut up." Knowing she had hit a nerve in Ben's armour, she continued.

"You're the Nomlie."

"No."

"The genetic mistake."

"NO!" Ben roared as he stood, pulling the handcuff free from the heater. He advanced on Max, a hungry look in his eyes. Her eyes filled with terror and she reached out a hand to Ben, to stop him before he did something they would both regret.

"Ben, you know what you're doing is wrong. Some part of you wants it to end. So end it. Tell me where Destry is. Your mission's over." At this, he faltered. Seeing his little sister cower in front of him, Ben looked at himself for the first time in years. He saw a man confused and hurt by the world around him. Flopping down onto the ground, he drew his knees to his chest and sobbed.

"We never should've left. Everything made sense there."

"No. _Nothing_ made sense there. Not even the way we were born made sense."

"Help me, Maxie." His desperate pleading struck a chord in Max's heart, the one that would defend the members of her family to her last dying breath.

"I'm right here, Ben. Tell me where he is."


End file.
